Anyone got recommendations for a cheap 12v car fridge/freezer? Moderate in size, maybe 40-50l as a rough guess, preferably 2 sections for fridge and freezer options.
Ive seen some cheap ones from a brand called Kings, sold by 4wd supacentre, but I have no idea if they're good or not. Is there a large difference in efficiency between brands?
Maybe a nice bonus would be the ability to also run it off 240v.
I'm hoping to eventually also get a battery pack to run it when camping, and a solar panel to charge it.
Thanks!
12v Car Fridge
nuttapillar on 04/02/2023 - 13:36
Comments
2014 Mazda 6 sedan
40-50L will be huge in the car. It’s not the dimensions of the fridge that you need to be worried about but how exactly it fits in the boot.
Whilst you have the dimensions there the fridge takes up a lot more usable boot space. For example it will need to be towards the entry to the boot so you can open the lid of the fridge (this is something that is more impractical than it you think it is).
I’m Running mine In a 2012 IS350 and from a usable space standpoint about 1/3 of the boot is taken by the fridge (it’s towards boot lid and the anchor points are where I’d want them to be; I also installed a 12v point in the boot so I’m not running cables through the car). I still have space behind the fridge but the fridge does take up quite a bit of usable boot space.
Brass Monkey fridges, available in many different sizes at Jaycar or Roadtech Marine, seem to be the best value for money.
I've been happy with my 75l brass monkey. Running off a 70ah AGM battery with solar panel
Make sure you get one with a compressor, NOT a thermoelectric module.
I've had a cheap $200 30L Rovin fridge in the back of my car for the last four months and it's been humming along fine. Even got a little battery pack which runs it for a few hours.The expensive ones are the Engels which use some 'Sawafuji' swing motor. Plenty of good reports but way too expensive for me.
Do you know what the power capacity of the battery is? I'm guessing I should go for 100ah
'Sawafuji' swing motor
Really fascinating when I was researching these - they use an inverter to get an AC current, which drives the compressor in a linear fashion with an internal spring. Essentially only one moving part which is why they're so bulletproof.
I was investigating how to repair an 80's model Engel I inherited, which only ran on 240v - after realising it was a basic 12v inverter module, I simply wired in one of those cheap 150w can inverters that are a dime a dozen and it's been happy ever since. Probably more efficient than the original circuitry!
Got two mates with kings ones bought on sale, they have been pretty good from the times they’ve been brought along on our beach trips
Prob wouldn’t pay rrp
I can recommend the MyCoolman CEP 47L as a cheap option, had mine for a few years and taken it on heaps of trips (car & camping) with no issues. Does fridge/freezer runs off 240v and 12v, fairly quiet, cools well. They go on special at Anaconda and Costco quite often, think it stung me about $450 with the cover
If it's just going to be a car fridge basically then I really think Kings, Brass Monkey or Rovin are the go. I've owned a Kings and it served me well, they use a Secop compressor which is the same type of compressor used in the much more expensive Dometic. Last I checked Brass Monkey use a LG compressor, now I'm not sure if they have changed but a put off when I was looking into these was they had a really small recommended angle of use than other brands, basically if you parked on a bit of a hill etc then you'd be outside the recommended operational angle.
I have a cheap Rovin and for the money it's my go to car fridge, they are a cheap basically no name compressor, build quality isn't great as far as insulation etc but it does the job, I also have the 17ah internal battery that goes in which is really handy as it means you can park the car for a few hours and come back to the fridge still operating, the catch is the battery was almost dearer than the fridge. I'm not sure I'd trust a rovin with frozen goods though, Kings for sure.
…Kings…they use a Secop compressor
Apparently not any longer.
I had an Oztrail for my NT trip and it was rubbish. I took it back for a full refund. Stay away
Jaycar's range is fantastic.
I’ve got a 20L kings fridge and have been very happy with it
Some of the Kings fridges use SECOP compressors which, from what I was told and the little reading I did on them, are good compressors. Mine doesn’t have a SECOP compressor because I couldn’t get one in the size/price I wanted.
Here’s a thing in compressors in fridges
https://www.mygenerator.com.au/blog/a-look-at-the-best-compr…
What car is it going into?